But why do you use Windows??

[steelo]

I use Windows mainly for gaming and MS Office - despite its flaws, it just works better for my needs. I had a mac mini (impulse buy) for 4 years and was miserable using MacOS...I actually hated the OS so much that I dreaded even turning the computer on. I found every simple task to be tedious and require too many steps, but then again others love MacOS. I think we are 'hard wired' at birth whether we can tolerate Windows or Mac.

[TheTallGuy]

On 8/29/2019 at 8:11 PM, James said:

Hey guys! We're doing another "10 Reasons _____ is just Better" video - this time with WINDOWS. Now's your chance to tell us what you love about Windows and/or why Windows is better than MacOS/ Linux.

 

 

 

 

 

The only reason I use Windows is gaming. When games are gonna be natively supported by Linux I'm gonna switch.

[Rune]

I build computers every day and getting macOS to run on all of them would be a pain in the butt.

[Euchre]

May be weird to say, but it is much more easily customized than any other OS, without having to go down a rabbit hole of side effects. I'd love to run a blackbox variant on all of the things, but thanks to Apple's lock on the UI, that's a nope, and thanks to the Linux community not keeping the layers of hardware support and UI from being deeply inter-dependent, that too is no bueno. With Windows, I can still throw some 3rd party stuff at it, usually free, and it changes it to look more like I want with little effort. One particular aspect of UI modification that Windows does better than any other OS I've yet worked with is graphical scaling, from fonts and icons to the whole desktop itself. I made an HTPC out of a Mac mini years ago, and the biggest challenge was making everything legible and in some cases even visible from 12' away. With Windows, I can set font sizes for basically *anything*, and generally enlarge a lot of UI elements globally much more easily.

 

The other thing is file management. Windows built in solution, now called 'File Explorer', has gotten a bit weird and bloated, but I can configure away many of the stupid changes. On top of that, there are other options, not the least of which is Microsoft's own ancient File Manager, as well as lots of 3rd party options. The directory structure is also not peculiar and like learning another language just to understand.

 

All that said, I don't actually think Windows is 'better', and I consider myself to be "platform independent". If I was enough of a masochist and wanted to spend half of my living hours on it, I suppose I could work up my own Linux distro that would be exactly everything I wanted in an OS - but ain't nobody got time for that! That being the case, I just live with using each OS where it is, and cope with the flaws of them.

[Euchre]

You may not believe it, but when I can't swap a window manager on Linux without risking my Wifi not working, then that's a big barrier to customization.

[TetraSky]

... Why do I even use Windows? .... Mostly for gaming. Which I barely do these days.... Everything I do on my computer now could easily be done on Linux, I know that for a fact... But it's just easier to use Windows.

 

Honestly, these days I pretty much just use Windows because it is what I know most and I can't be arsed to play around with Linux. Maybe if I had to buy Windows 10 I might have given it more thought, but since I got it for free ... Meh.

[Salv8 (sam)]

been using it for years, since childhood with my first one being 98.

i know wine is available and there are alternatives to some of the software that i use that isn't on linux

but i use microsoft office for work, i game with varying titles (some that don't work correctly with proton), and i use adobe products such as Photoshop and premiere pro

for most of these i can just use wine and proton but office is near to impossible to run on linux with wine, you require a wine fork called CrossOver which costs $50 USD and doesn't even run office that well!

[Computernaut]

I like Windows because it's pretty easy for beginners while being as customizable and involved as you want, it's easy(er than most operating systems) to install. The huge amount of support is of coarse very good. Hardware versatility is good, but not as good as Linux (e.g. Windows supports fewer drives, fewer processing cores (unless you get the server version), and handles very powerful and/or many computing members better). And most importantly, it's a sort of happy-medium between super locked-down, but intuitive (from what I've heard) MacOS, and very open, but also very involved and difficult, Linux.

 

By the way, I know you've done a number of Linux videos of late, but I'd really like to see a video of this structure for that OS as well.

[DrMacintosh]

Simply put, the only reason why I use Windows at all is for gaming and software compatibility. 

 

My MacBook Pro has a Bootcamp install of Windows 10 so I can play games when traveling and so I can use the various IDEs that have been required for my CS courses. 

 

Other than that, I don't believe that Windows 10 does anything better or brings anything unique to the table compared to macOS. 

[Flying Sausages]

I use Windows because I like Microsoft to spy on me.

[The_Prycer]

It offers just enough customization that you can get the machine you want-unlike Apple-but not so much that you can get in too deep and bork your system without knowing what you're doing-like certain Linux distros.

 

Event Viewer is a fantastic tool for discovering what issues you are having and the code database for it is kept very up to date

 

Gaming on Mac and Linux-while doable-is still light years behind Windows machines.

 

Backwards compatibility is extremely useful in running older programs 

 

They've never charged me $999 for a monitor stand 

[williamcll]

It's mostly the application and hardware support, especially now that some Mac and linux distros don't support 32 bit apps anymore.

 

And installing programs on windows is slightly easier than on linux.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

I use it mainly because I've been using the same programs for my graphical and audio stuff for years and am too lazy to look for replacements that work on Linux. 

 

With support for Windows 7 coming to an end in January I am getting ready to move over though.  I've been using Mint on the laptop for years now and have been sporadically messing around with it on the desktop, but never looked into moving over my entire workflow. 

I have absolutely no intention to use Win10, except at work. 

[LeapFrogMasterRace]

Besides being the only real gaming operating system for PC it is the best blend of you can do what you want to but don't make it over complicated. MacOS being too simple Linux being an ass pain for doing things slightly above the basics. People are like oh Linux is great because you can do XYZ and backwards.... but I don't need to and the things I want to do/change I can in windows. 

 

[dogwitch]

ui,easy of use in terms of not trying to find that one other person with same problem and has a answer.

massive overall software support. also gaming

[Arika]

It does everything i I need and want it to. There's also a much higher chance of software existing for that weird niche requirement.

 

Linux is cool but no where near Windows in terms of ease of use and and shear range of hardware and software compatibility

[Windows7ge]

So far from my own experience I'd say general stability. Although I find Linux doesn't crash as often when having hardware issues when it comes to running system applications Windows appears to be more stable.

 

Or I'm just on a bad distro. That could also be the case.

[scotartt]

I use windows in a Citrix remote desktop because there's this one task I have to run a windows program for work.

 

 

[thevicparable]

1.OneDrive integration is fantastic. I've just moved continents and had to leave my desktop behind, and also went from an old laptop to a new one. Accessing my files has been a breeze. I also work in education and go between different campuses and devices, all super easy with OneDrive. The integration with MS Office is also great for that reason.

 

2. I'm more of a hardware person than a software person. I love the physical experience of building a PC, picking and putting the parts together, getting better at cable management, learning more about case mods etc. On the software side I like Linux in principle and would love to learn how to bend it to my will, but ultimately I'm not interested enough to commit. Windows hits that compromise between ease of use and customization pretty well. It's easy to install and I can tweak it and troubleshoot it, usually without having to get too deep.

 

4. Better value for money and choice in laptops. While I'm annoyed the Chromebook has effectively pushed up the price of low end laptops which has had a flow on effect, you can still get more for your money in on a Windows laptop and Macbook Air alternatives are getting a lot cheaper. 

 

Cons: Resale value on laptops.

 

Basically I'm cheap when it comes to laptops.

[VinLAURiA]

Windows seems to be the only OS made for actual people. It's willing to work with you rather than trying to force its own way of doing things onto you.

 

With macOS, you're stuck with pricey Apple hardware (or close equivalents if going the Hackintosh route) and the entire time you're treated with kid gloves so that you don't break something, you buffoon. Apple is determined to keep you in their walled garden, and if you try to expand the system's capabilities, it's gonna be a headache and a half. Yes, the interface is very polished, but it's like trying to use your computer while wearing mittens. The system doesn't trust the user not to screw things up. The OS never lets itself fade into the background because the entire time it's holding your hand and making sure you do things the Apple way; it reminds me of the old Hunter Cressall video: "I don't feel like I'm operating the Mac so much as I'm just there sharing the Mac experience, and if I can do something useful while the Mac is willing, so much the better."

 

Linux has the opposite problem: you can't merely trust the system to do something by itself; it's all stuck on hardcore manual, and you have to hold its hand (if you even know how to). Despite how much the FOSS faithful want to claim how "easy" Linux has gotten, every time I've tried it has been a nightmare of CLIs and compatibility conundrums from initial installation to daily use. No thought is put into what the average user expects or might want to do; again, it never lets itself fade into the background, only this time it's because you always have to fiddle with some setting or console command just to get the computer in the right state to do what you want to do. Even just trying to dip your toes in is a hassle; you can't try out Ubuntu (the most popular and self-proclaimed easiest distro) via dual-boot without GRUB eating your bootloader and having to waste time researching how to restore it, rather than having a simple "you wanna just add an Ubuntu entry to your Windows boot menu instead?" at the start.

 

Yes, Windows used to be very janky, especially in the DOS shell days - I'm not going to argue that. In many ways, it was like the "manual only" stupidity of Linux on top of the restrictive headache of Mac. But Microsoft has had a team of professionals (not hobbyists) polishing up that modern Windows NT experience for the past two decades, keeping all kinds of users and hardware within consideration. And despite the snide, ignorant memes about Vista and Win8 (I still submit the only bad Windows was ME), the result has only gotten better with each iteration from 2000 onward. It's as willing to take the reigns and let you trust it with something as it is to step aside and let you do things yourself. All the options and info are provided for you to do something manually, but you're never forced to do so, and the system has your back if you're stuck. Also, going between different "tiers" of complexity is seamless, as the most basic actions are at the forefront while more advanced commands are tucked logically away in menus or accessible via hotkeys, but every method is always available to you since you might be more skilled in one aspect of a task than another (and I'm not just pulling that out of nowhere, many people have said how the multitude of ways to do something is one of Windows' strengths).

 

Linux is for hardcore power-users, and macOS is for those totally clueless about tech. Windows is for everyone else. These days, Win10 is a very smart but also very customizable OS with all sorts of quality-of-life features that make it hard to go back to how we used to do things just in the Win8 days... like how it was hard to go back to Win7 during those Win8 days, or Vista during the Win7 days, or XP during the Vista days. I mean, I really can't overstate how good the UI has gotten and how easily you can make it suit your tastes. It's been a long time since Windows has frustrated me like how it used to back in the Win9x days.

 

Nowadays, it just works.

[RichardR]

I used Ubuntu almost exclusively (windows dual boot for programs I couldn't do without or WINE) up until Ubuntu 12.04. From then on I've always had mouse issues, and even worse with a Synaptics trackpad under GNU/Linux which I have never been able to resolve. I endured it for a while on some devices, but have gradually migrated back to Windows since 10 came out, with some flavour of GNU/Linux as a dual boot. I really miss GNU/Linux as a daily driver, but enjoy not having to deal with features on my laptop like volume and brightness controls being flaky or even not working!

I don't use Mac as I've no fruity devices, and no wish to be forced into that ecosystem. I like being able to do what I want with what I have.

[xn--cr8h]

Main reason for me (over OSX) is the window management. I can't imagine trying to get any real work done on OSX. If I want to switch to a specific window I can just select it from the taskbar, whereas on OSX it's much harder to find the window you want -- you have to hunt through context menus and there aren't any window previews to help. Not to mention that OSX still doesn't have a functional "maximize" button. I normally have at least 10-15 windows open on my Windows system, whereas in my experience the whole Mac experience falls apart after about 2 or 3 windows.

 

I did use various Linuxes for a while but ultimately switched back to Windows for a couple reasons:

• Program support -- many programs I wanted to use are only available on Windows, and WINE only works some of the time.
• Font rendering -- might sound petty but whenever I booted into Windows, my eyes would just relax.
• You have to choose between a stable distro that always has horribly outdated programs, or an unstable (rolling release) distro where you can get updates immediately but if you update things out of order it can break your entire system. Windows's package management is a pain in its own way (as in, it doesn't exist) but being able to have the latest versions of programs without having to worry about breaking your system is pretty great.
• Little things like little graphical glitches, screen tearing when scrolling through web browsers, random freezing, some things working better in X while others work better in Wayland, etc
• I felt like I had to do a lot of heavy customization to get everything to work the way I wanted it to, whereas the way things work out of the box on Windows generally works well for me. Maybe it's just that I've been using Windows forever (since XP) so I'm used to it.

Here are some other little things I really appreciate about Windows:

• File Explorer. I haven't been able to find a file management program anywhere else, on any other platform, that's even half as good.
• Compatibility: I still find it amazing that I can take a program written in 1997, double-click it, and it will just work.
• I appreciate how Windows programs are starting to ditch the old, clunky File/Edit/View menu system in favour of systems that make it easier to find what you're looking for. OSX has the File/Edit/View menus kinda baked into the UI so pretty much every program uses them, which means if you want to look for something you need to hunt through every single menu like it's 2009. That's not to say that no Windows programs have File/Edit/View menus anymore (many do) but it's a lot easier for programs to switch to a better system, and many of them are (i.e. Microsoft Office and Fusion 360). GTK3 programs on Linux are also moving in the right direction.